DeMar DeRozan intends to decline his $27.7 million player option if he and the San Antonio Spurs are unable to agree to an extension by the late June deadline.

DeRozan would become one of the most high profile unrestricted free agents on the market.

DeRozan could return to the Spurs if he becomes a free agent, but he could also sign with a team like the New York Knicks who are expected to express interest.

DeRozan is in his second season with the Spurs following a trade from the Toronto Raptors. 

Bill Self has again dismissed rumors that he could leave Kansas to become head coach of the San Antonio Spurs when Gregg Popovich retires.

“Well, yes and no because I don’t hear about it much at all because I know there is absolutely zero truth to it,” Self said when asked about the Spurs' connections. “If I know anybody, I probably know R.C. Buford. He showed me around (during) my recruiting visits to Oklahoma State, he was responsible for getting me up here primarily as a graduate assistant at Kansas, I lived with him for a year, he was in my wedding and I was in his wedding, his son played for me, my son now works for him. I think I know ‘Boof’ pretty well. And I will promise you, this has never been broached one time, never even discussed at all.

“So, people may say whatever because we are buddies, which we are, and proud of that. But I am not going to be the next coach of the San Antonio Spurs, nor would he want me to be. I mean, they got arguably the greatest coach of all time that still has got a lot of gas in the tank. So, that is a rumor I know some people have said, but that is a pretty ridiculous one right there.”

Teams across the NBA have shifted their power structure over the past few years to appear more player-centric and have erred on the side of caution to protect them from injuries, especially over the long-term.

Several executives point to the way Kawhi Leonard forcing a trade from the San Antonio Spurs in 2018 over a disagreement on how to handle his quad issue.

“Kawhi scared the living hell out of everyone,” one general manager told Tom Haberstroh of NBC Sports. “If it can happen to the Spurs, it can happen to anybody.”

The Toronto Raptors and Leonard worked together on a rest strategy that resulted in a championship. The Los Angeles Clippers have taken a similar approach with Leonard this season.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were recently fined $25,000 for resting D'Angelo Russell in the first night of a back-to-back. The Wolves subsequently released the following statement:

“We are a player-centric organization that's focused on learning and optimizing our players' bodies. As a new player in our program, we chose to rest D'Angelo in order to learn his body better and to optimize his health during a difficult stretch of games and travel.”

DeMarre Carroll only gave back $811,447 of the $15 million money guaranteed to him as part of his buyout with the San Antonio Spurs.

Carroll signed a three-year, $21 million deal with the Spurs this past offseason.

Carroll fell out of the rotation with the Spurs and they gave him his freedom to sign with the Houston Rockets.

The Spurs elected not to use the stretch provision on Carroll.